What do you get when you combine the talents of Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn and an all star supporting cast of character actors under the direction of Howard Hawks? You get one of the greatest classic screwball comedies ever made.

Here is a good synopsis from IMDb: When Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn), a scatterbrained young woman, takes a shine to Dr. David Huxley (Cary Grant), a sober palaeontologist, mayhem ensues. Dr. Huxley, engaged to be married and intensely interested in the arrival of the brontosaurus bone required to complete his project at the museum, is inextricably bound up with Susan's escapades when she finds herself responsible for Baby, a tame leopard shipped to her New York apartment and intended for Susan's aunt in Connecticut. The plot thickens when George the Terrier steals the priceless bone and buries it, Baby escapes, and an untamed leopard escapes from a circus convoy (resulting in a twist on the mistaken identity ploy). Will Susan's love for David be reciprocated? Will David get his bone back? Will Baby be brought up - or brought down?

Bringing Up Baby has been called the ultimate romantic screwball comedy. I think this particular comedy was so excellent because of the enormous talent of the cast as well as great writing and direction. It is a fast-paced romp that starts with the meeting of the two main characters and doesn't slow until the climactic ending. Every scene is fun and exciting. The dialog is crisp and sharp throughout. All of the characters are quirky and brilliant.George the dog is none other than Skippy (Asta) of Thin Man fame.I discovered from my research that most of the actors got their start on Broadway or Vaudeville. I believe this is the reason they were so successful playing off each other.

Cary Grant started out traveling with a troupe of comedians and acrobats at age 14.

Katherine Hepburn began her career on Broadway and had an academy award (1933).

Charles Ruggles began on the stage.

May Robson was a major stage actress and playwright.

Walter Catlett began his career in Vaudeville.

This is a great classic comedy to watch if you've had a particularly rough day at work. It is sure to bring a smile to your face!

I've decided to blog about classic movies from the 1930s because I have a passion for the black and white films from that era. So much so that I wrote a novel, Murder By Plane, based on the 1930s classics. My first blog entry will be about The Thin Man, staring William Powell and Myrna Loy. There is only one good reason why, as far as I know, there has never been a remake of The Thin Man. Because no one really believed they could pull it off successfully. It is a one-of-a-kind original classic that can't be replicated. The movie follows the book pretty closely. It combines a good murder plot with snappy comical dialog and amazing quirky characters. A writer can't go wrong with a novel like that. William Powell plays the roll of detective Nick Charles and Myrna Loy is his beautiful, and wealthy, wife Nora. Nick is not only a brilliant crime solver, but also incredibly funny. Nora usually plays the "straight man" to Nick's clown. The comic timing is unbeatable. The couple also have a wire-haired fox terrier named Asta, who helps by occasionally finding clues. If you have never watched The Thin Man, or read the book, give it a try. I suspect you will become a fan by the time the murder is solved.

Here is some Thin Man trivia that I heisted from the IMDB for your enjoyment.

While the "Thin Man" in the movie refers to character Clyde Wynant, in the opening credits of the film the cover of the novel "The Thin Man" is shown. On the dust jacket of the book we see a thin man who's not just a model for the photo but who is also author Dashiell Hammett.

Given three weeks to shoot the film, W.S. van Dyke managed it all in 12 days for the paltry budget of $231,000 (April 9-mid May). The film surprised everyone by becoming a major box office hit, raking in $1.4 million.

In The Thin Man (1934) while serving guests at a Christmas Party, and in My Man Godfrey (1936) when he comes home "intoxicated" William Powell sings the same line to a song, "For tomorrow may bring sorrow, so tonight let us be gay"

The title does not refer to Nick Charles (William Powell), but to the murder victim (Edward Ellis). Audiences and critics alike kept referring to Nick Charles as "the Thin Man", so subsequent films kept the name.

According to writer Rich Drees in "Films in Review," actor Powell had trouble with the climactic dinner table scene which had a lot of complicated dialogue. The oysters on the table eventually went bad under he hot studio lights during the repeated retakes and created an unpleasant redolent odor.

The Thin Man (1934) author Dashiell Hammett drew on his experiences as a union-busting Pinkerton detective in Butte, Montana, in creating his detective characters. Meanwhile, "The Thin Man" star Myrna Loy was born near and raised in Helena, Montana.

What is your definition of boredom? Are you bored when you don't have something to physically do or is it purely mental boredom, such as a long wait in traffic or at a doctor's office. Do you require constant stimulation from outside sources, such as television, radio, computer or other devices?Have you ever thought about giving in and allowing yourself to be bored? I'm rarely bored because from the time I was a child I have allowed my mind to do it's own thing when I would otherwise be bored out of my head. What I'm talking about is daydreaming. As a creative person, I have always been a dreamer. Not a good idea when operating heavy equipment, but great when sitting in an office waiting room with year old copies of sports magazines.I have always given the creative part of my brain a chance to run free when in that kind of setting. It keeps boredom at bay and allows me to come up with stories from time to time.So the next time you are sitting in a boring place, tempted to grab your iphone, try giving in to the boredom for once. You may be surprised with the results.

Can you imagine being in your twenties and writing a novel as amazing as Gatsby. The lyrical prose and rich description and symbolism throughout. I've read Gatsby several times and I learn something new every time I read it. No wonder it has been called one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. Thank you Scott.

"His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly’s wings." - Ernest Hemingway

The bad characters are as important to a story as the good characters. The story is driven by the plot and conflict between good and evil is essential to a good story. It is fairly easy to find inspiration for a protagonist; somebody that you can relate to. Maybe someone you would want to be. What about the bad character? The role nobody wants to play? How do you create an evil character that is memorable to the reader? Where do you find the model for someone vile, but necessary to the stories' plot? You can start by looking around you at the people who are a part of the real world; the people who play a role in your own life. In my historical mystery novel, Murder By Plane, I drew the inspiration for several bad characters from real life people. I changed the names and some of the physical descriptions, but made the personalities coincide. This satisfies the stories' need for antagonists, while allowing you to do whatever you want, in fiction, to people you don't like. Drawing upon real life people for fiction characters helps you to flesh them out. I find this preferable to dreaming someone up from thin air. I had the inspiration for one undesirable character from the memory of a boss with an enormously inflated ego. Everyone knows someone who makes up for his own inadequacies by dragging others down verbally or otherwise. I created a vile, egotistical Hollywood movie mogul who became the main antagonist in the story. If you don't dislike this character you probably need help. Building a plot-driven murder mystery requires the kind of conflict that only a truly evil person can provide.T. E. Avery is the author of Murder By Plane.

In my days as a young man I was always skeptical, never believing anything without some real evidence. I prided myself on my skepticism until one night when I was shaken to my core by a very real and strange event. I lived alone in a small one-bedroom apartment in row with several neighbors. The eerie circumstances occurred on a chilly winter night during the Christmas holiday season. I had almost finished wrapping some gifts, but it was late and I decided to call it a night and go to bed. The presents and wrapping paper and clear tape remained on the dining table just outside my bedroom door. I flopped into bed and fell into a deep sleep. My sleep was soon interrupted by strange noises outside my open bedroom door. I thought it sounded like paper rattling and tape being ripped. I tried to ignore the sounds and drifted in and out of slumber. The noises persisted late into the night and I was either too tired or too scared to get up and investigate them. The feeling of being watched came over me as I awoke suddenly lifting myself onto my elbows. A shadowy figure stood at the foot of my bed. I yelled out in terror and my heart pounded. I observed the shape as it moved across the dark room and vanished through the wall. The next morning I noticed many pieces of scotch tape stuck to the bedroom door molding as if it was deliberately placed there. Later, that same week, an elderly next door neighbor discreetly confided to me that he had been frightened by a ghostly apparition coming out of his wall. He also confided that the previous tenant of my apartment had been an elderly woman who had died in her sleep one night. After this I was never skeptical again.

An era: A long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic. There are specific eras throughout human history that particularly capture the imagination and soul of many people. These "ages", as they are sometimes referred, are defined by certain cultural innovations which changed aspects of society. The evolution of invention and the arts have especially influenced changes in our culture. Why are some of us drawn to a certain era more than other phases in our passage through time? Why do we often look to past ages for inspiration or entertainment? What is it about a classic movie or an old tune from the past that can soothe or excite you? I am personally drawn to the 1930's. The movies from that era remain my all time favorites. The screwball comedies (Bringing Up Baby, Topper, Godfrey). The mysteries (The Thin Man, The 39 Steps, The Hound Of The Baskervilles). The horrors ( Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Jekyll/Hyde, King Kong).I enjoy the music from that decade too. (Hoagy Carmichael, Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, The Dorsey Brothers). I don't know why I am drawn to this specific era in history; why I long for that time. If I had to guess I would say it must be something from my childhood, a pleasant time spent with loved ones perhaps. Something from that time period provides a pleasurable feeling, a comfort, to me.Maybe you can answer my question. Are you drawn to the movies, the art, the music or the fashion of a certain decade? I would like to know what era you like best and why? Please post your comments below.

A few years ago I was visiting a small airport that sat off the main road alongside the Missouri river. I enjoy small airstrips and the light aircraft that can be found at them. It was Autumn and the day was clear and blue and the air felt cool. A man and his little boy were standing beside a two-seat ultra-light with a colorful, fabric, triangular wing. The boy looked nervous as his father instructed him to climb into the front seat. He finished strapping his young son into the forward seat, patted the boy on his small shoulder and positioned himself into the rear seat. The man pulled the starter cable and the small engine roared to life; the ultra-light airplane's frame shuddered. They rolled down the asphalt paved runway, the rear-mounted engine whining and the propeller spinning in an invisible blur as the plane picked up speed and its wing began to provide lift. The plane had a tricycle landing gear, with two big wheels in the rear and one, smaller, steerable, wheel in the front. I watched as the ultra-light lifted off and, unexpectedly, one of the large wheels fell off when they were about fifty feet above the ground. The rear wheels were positioned behind the pilot's seat, out of his range of vision. I ran over, picked up the wheel, and began waving it over my head and frantically shouting, "Hey, The wheel fell off." I ran around crazily, shouting and waving and looking around for help. The two in the ultra-light were now about 200 feet up and oblivious to any noise from the ground. The tiny aircraft ascended a little further and then banked and circled; flying parallel with the runway at three hundred feet. The pilot obviously intended to bring the craft in for a landing. A landing minus a wheel on one side. I felt helpless as I observed the pilot lining up with the runway for a short final approach. I was unable to do anything to stop the impending disaster. I thought it likely the plane would ground loop when the bare axle dug into the runway. This would cause the plane to flip. The little boy sat in the most vulnerable position. My heart froze. When the ultra-light glided down, the axle hit the runway and the little plane swung around sharply and came to an abrupt stop. I had failed to calculate the extremely slow airspeed (around 10 mph) when anticipating the disaster. The father and son were surprised, but otherwise okay. The culprit: a missing cotter pin, which had probably worked itself loose over time. It occurred to me later, if this had been a larger, heavier aircraft, the end would had been very different. Years after this incident, I wrote a mystery novel which involved a similar accident, but with a much more tragic end and the beginning of the story. In my novel, Murder By Plane, The main character, Reginald, blames himself for the plane crash which killed his fiancee, until he discovers evidence of sabotage and murder.

Andy Griffith passed away last week. Those of us who grew up in the 1960's remember him best as Sheriff Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. Others, born at a later time, remember him best as Matlock in the series of the 1980's. What a great actor. But Andy stood out, to many of us, as more than just a great actor. The rolls he played, on television, as Sheriff Taylor and Matlock, perfectly fit the character of the man himself; for goodness and justice and compassion and humor. I base this assertion on the words of those who knew him best and worked beside him for many years; Ron Howard and the late Don Knotts and others. I always asserted that you could learn everything you needed to know about life by watching The Andy Griffith Show. The plots were uncomplicated and usually involved some sort of moral dilemma for one or more of the characters. By the end of the episode, the problem was always solved, often by the country wisdom of Sheriff Taylor, and everyone ended up sitting on the front porch eating Aunt Bee's pie. These moral lessons were so basic that they could apply to nearly anyone. There is wisdom in that simplicity too. The Andy Griffith Show was the only 1960's sitcom that left a lasting impression on you that you carried through life. You probably never realized that you were revisiting the life lessons learned from the show from time to time and applying this wisdom to your own experiences; along with the wisdom and knowledge of other important people in your life. Andy Griffith has passed away, but his character will always remain.Opie to Andy....."Don't my birdcage seem awful empty,Paw?....."

Andy to Opie.."yep it does Ope, but don't the trees seem nice and full?"

I was that kid, at home, who always watched what his Dad was doing. Dad may not have known it, but I was watching as he did all the things that a Dad does for his family through the years; out there working and providing and sometimes worrying. Sometimes playing, but always thinking about his family, even if he couldn't always be with them. The one thing I particularly noticed about my Father was his attitude of never giving up. He never stopped when things weren't going his way. My Dad is a smart guy and he worked his way through the tough times. He figured it out. He never quit. Whether it was a problem at work or something around the house, Dad would eventually solve the problem and move on to the next. This can be said for both of my parents. I think their attitude came from that "greatest generation" they belong to and growing up during the 1930's and 40's. Dad always says "You have to take the bad with the good." He never gave up on anything. He also says "Keep moving. You'll last longer." I appreciate that stamina and I hope I have learned something from watching my Dad through the years. I like to think I have been inspired by my Dad and some of these qualities show up in my fiction. My stories are set during the 1930's and my main character is from a generation before my Father's, but I like to believe there is some of that, "never give up", stamina in my protagonist; Reginald St. John. Thank you Dad for being the kind of man you are and happy Father's day.